Hi

Sorry if this is already posted. I think I posted on the wrong site(newbie !!)

My 3 year old puma Ecoboost hybrid car battery has lost charge a couple of times recently and I had to call in the AA twice to restart it. The charge was so low that my smart charger couldn't recharge the battery. I have read quite a bit regarding this issue online. As I'm a low mileage user would you recommend that I regularly trickle charge to maintain the voltage. Would it be worthwhile purchasing a mobile jump battery unit to save any further call outs. Any advice would be appreciated

 

Regards Roger 

I've been regularly giving my battery a top up charge for the last 5 years, since this sort of issue started to emerge. I'm quite a low mileage user and that usage is irregular, but I find a top up every 6-8 weeks does the job. If I've left the car unused for a couple of weeks (e.g. for holidays) I do it before using it again.

Most smart chargers have a maintenance mode where you can just leave it on and it tops up as and when required, if you're able to do that. 

I'm toying with the jump starter idea myself "just in case", and several members have them - no doubt some recommendations will be forthcoming. I believe the AA has a limit on call outs for the same fault after which you have to pay, so it might work out cheaper.

Worth keeping an eye on your battery with a multimeter, with reference to the usual guide:

 

 

 

 

I have the Noco GB40 jump starter.

Prices vary so worth shopping around.

Anyone else think it sad that a 3 year old car, in 2024 is so unreliable because of 'battery' issues? Maybe it's just me...

20 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I have the Noco GB40 jump starter.

I was looking at that one, Tom. The blurb suggests you only need to charge it up annually if it's unused - is that  a reasonable claim in your experience? 

3 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Anyone else think it sad that a 3 year old car, in 2024 is so unreliable because of 'battery' issues? Maybe it's just me...

No, I think it's extremely sad too! It's worse than that, really. I got my current car in April last year and it was on the charger by August. Meanwhile our 10 year old "other" car, which does far less mileage still continues to give no problems with the original battery. The key fob battery is also the  original.😀

11 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Anyone else think it sad that a 3 year old car, in 2024 is so unreliable because of 'battery' issues? Maybe it's just me...

Yeah you would think that as technology advances, the cars would be more reliable, not less.

Hi Roger. A favourite for hybrid car owners is to get a ctek trickle charger. It's connected to the battery permanently and basically keeps the battery topped up.all the time. Much better than those 'booster' packs that seems to be the rage. Fads eh lol.

1 hour ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I was looking at that one, Tom. The blurb suggests you only need to charge it up annually if it's unused - is that  a reasonable claim in your experience? 

No idea, mines had fairly regular use!

I get about 3 jump starts to a full charge.

Think it's been about 6-9 months since I last used it though, so will try to remember to check the charge level over the weekend.

 

Gb70 has had lots of use over the years at work. But now it sits in the glovebox of my car. Can jump 20+ transits in a day . Stays charged for many months on end . Think last time I topped it up fully was when I bought my ioniq so Oct 22.

On 2/16/2024 at 7:42 PM, tazzman600 said:

A favourite for hybrid car owners is to get a ctek trickle charger. 

Roger B already has a smart charger I think, so he should be able to do that anyway (if his parking arrangements permit) as I mentioned in my first post above.

Chargers (trickle or otherwise) won't help of course in the situation where you leave the car in e.g. an airport car park** for a fortnight and come back to find it won't start, so a booster might be handy.

(**Unless it's Luton and its been incinerated so a flat battery is the least of your worries!😀).

Thanks everyone for your comments. Much appreciated. Yes I have a trickle charger so will definitely keep the battery charged. As you say the only problem is when you leave it parked (eg airport)

3 hours ago, Roger Brown said:

Yes I have a trickle charger so will definitely keep the battery charged.

Just remember that the negative lead of the charger must be connected to the chassis earth point, not the battery negative.

21 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Think it's been about 6-9 months since I last used it though, so will try to remember to check the charge level over the weekend.

Just checked.  It is indeed still fully charged.